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Think about this. You can always go back to public school if, after a fair trial period, homeschooling isn't what you thought. Homeschooling is so mainstream now that there are so many resources and social opportunities for homeschooled kids. While homeschooling wasn't a thing when I was in school, the things my Mom taught me at home have stuck with me for life while what I learned in school never did.

Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.

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WLB and I had an awesome conversation yesterday about homeschooling. I had gotten the impression over the years of talking about it and never doing it, that while he would let me do whatever I felt comfortable with, he didn't love the idea. But I found quite the opposite as we talked openly about it. We're on the same page. We decided that we'd think and research more, and if we still feel good about it, then we'll sign the affidavits and turn them in in December and let the kids go on Winter Break and just never go back. I found myself slightly concerned about starting this at the same time that I am going into Yoga Cert. But WLB pointed out that it will actually work out great. Then when I need to leave in the evenings, I won't feel like I missed out on time with the kids, because I'll have been with them all day.

I've been carb crazy lately (not awful, but high for me). Part of it has been because we're low on groceries, and quinoa, potatoes and rice are easy fillers. Also TOM should start tomorrow and I'm crave-y. WLB did Tough Mudder on Saturday and I took the kids to our nieces surprise birthday party where we swam (translation: they played, I tried to keep 4 kids from drowning in the chaos of the indoor pool). I haven't gained any weight or inches. I've been right around the same weight/measurements for a while now. My composition still has some room for change, but I'm not dissatisfied with where I am at all. I figure my body is probably just prepping for winter. I need to make sure I keep my activity level up- which should be pretty easy with yoga training.

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Holy crap.
#1 I have a new appreciation for the beauty of the Utah desert. Pacing/crewing for WLB's brother on the Pony Express 50 was incredible. (Will write more later because....)
#2 I ate waaay too much crap on our trip in the middle of nowhere and was up last night with an ear infection! Of all things! Evil!! I'm so grateful that I have good natural remedy knowledge and loads of garlic and essential oils. I still can't hear well and my balance is a little off, but the stabbing, kill-me-now pain is down to a slight intermittent ache.

You don't have to be sick to get better.
Female, 31 years old, 5'8"
Primal start: 1/2/2012My Primal Journal
Living, loving and learning.

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Sorry that you haven't been feeling well. I hope the ear infection is gone.

Yay on the yoga training! I'm a huge yoga fan. I'm trying to suck my husband into it as well. Unfortunately, we'll get started and he gets distracted by me in downward dog and it all goes downhill from there, lol

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My ear infection is gone! Yay! And TOM is over! YAY! And I wrote another blog post! YAY!! I'm not sure how in the world 10 days past since my last post. I must have been running a household, keeping 6 lives going, recovering from illness and having adventures.
Last week was crazy busy. It was also UEA which spoiled me and made me wish we were already homeschooling. We'd been planning for months that WLB would pace his brother M in the Pony Express 50. We had grand, indefinite ideas about taking the running sibs and siblets out to the desert and camping out and crewing in one big party. But indefinite ideas are not plans. And once we got down to the nitty gritty, we realized that taking young kids out to camp in the freezing cold/blistering hot desert and stuffing them in a chaotically packed car for 10 or so hours would be mental. This realization led us to the next, which was that if I wanted to go, we needed babysitters. Not easy to find over UEA. My parents and siblings were in Iowa for my brother's graduation, and most of WLB's sibs were finding their own babysitters so that they could go. I held out hope and left emails and messages. I went to Costco to stock up on food and snack stuff as if I was going. Then on my way out of Costco WLB's Aunt Judy called saying she'd love to take the kids over night. I was so excited I immediately called A (M's wife) and screamed into the phone. The Costco parking lot rarely gets that exciting. Then came the INSANE scramble to pack overnight stuff for 4 kids, included prepped meals and snacks, plus running and camping supplies and necessities for myself and WLB... in 4 hours. I came out of it stressed and panting, but fully convinced that I have super powers.
We got the kids to Judy's, where M and A picked us up. Then we took their little guy out to his Grandma's house and we were on our way. In the dark. Out to nowhere land. I'm so glad M knew where we were going. We made it to the camp site around 9:30. It was COLD! But the sheer number of stars in the crystal clear sky made me want to cry. (We didn't know it was the very beginnings of the Orionid meteor shower, but we did see a few shooting stars.) It was pretty magical. We set up the tent hotel (this is what my family named our giganto tent) and got bundled up to try to sleep. I actually slept okay even though I woke up a lot in anticipation. The morning prep for the starting line came soon enough. We filled water bottles and nibbled on breakfast, and even prepped the Luggable Loo (better than digging a hole on the side of the dirt road). M's time came and we cheered him off, stayed for the crew briefing, and caught up to him in the van. Thus began a long and completely entertaining day of supply needs, drive a little, dance a lot...
...supply more needs, cheer a lot, snack a bunch, dance some more, run some, cheer some more, eat. I took good, primal snacks. M brought every crap junk food under the sun (because he never knows what he'll feel like when running 50 miles, so he buys everything), and of course it's a special, calorie burning occasion, so a few m&ms here, a handful of chips there, a few rolos, etc... and suddenly I've had WAY too much junk. M didn't really need pacers until about mile 28 or 29. He said he was still fine at that point, but he'd spread out from his running buddies and I could tell he could use company. So I changed into my shorts and hit the trail along side him.
He was tired and slow by that point, which was perfect for me to run alongside and pull him along through the sun and head wind. We chatted and plodded along for a few miles before he wanted to stop for lunch. Then WLB hopped on trail with us while A leap-frogged the van every 3 miles or so.
I was ready to keep her company after about 4.5 miles, so I let WLB take over sole pacing duty and went to pit stop party with A. I was so dang proud of him- he ran it to the end with M. He finished out about 20 miles straight! He's never run that far before! M had some tough hip issues, so we laid him out on a coat on the ground and I adjusted his hip the best I could.
Mish and Ben drove out and met up with us with about 10 miles to go. Ben hopped out with the boys and ran while the girls kept on crewing. The course has a quirk in that it used to start a mile and a half before the current start, but the BLM asked them to start elsewhere, so when you hit the finish, you have to run .75 miles out and then back to get the full 50. Pure. Torture.
A got out with a couple of miles to go to run with M and the boys and Mish and I drove the car out the the finish and waited to join them for the last out and back, then all 6 of us ran that last torturous mile and half together. M needed all the support he could get. It was awesome. (to be continued)

You don't have to be sick to get better.
Female, 31 years old, 5'8"
Primal start: 1/2/2012My Primal Journal
Living, loving and learning.

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We enjoyed the BBQ at the finish and drove back along the course with the wild horses and stunning sunset for company.
Nothing like a day out in the desert doing crazy stuff with your best friends.

We went to a friends Halloween party Saturday night- of course the dinner provided was pizza! I had had the forethought to ask if I could bring a salad, and made sure that salad included bacon, so at least we had something to eat. I also scraped the toppings off some pizza to eat, but I did indulge in a couple of hershey kisses, rolos, and chocolate and caramel dipped apple slices. Just a few, but just enough to send my body into full on rebellion. I was SO tired driving home, and by the time we wound down to try to sleep, I was in the evil clutches of a head cold and ear infection. I used lemon oil and sea salt with warm water in the neti, a garlic plug in my ear, and melaleuca and lavender. A couple of ibuprofen to top it off and I could finally sleep around 3 am. Sunday was a recovery day. Today I am still getting rid of the last of the mucous army in my head, throat and lungs, but I'm feeling so much better. I've done some yoga and I'm feeling like I should do some kb stuff or squats or something. Instead I'm folding laundry. Maybe squats later.

You don't have to be sick to get better.
Female, 31 years old, 5'8"
Primal start: 1/2/2012My Primal Journal
Living, loving and learning.

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I like the new blog post. You write well. Even if I could write at that level, I still couldn't...I don't like to show emotion like that. My life has been such a constant nightmare of wondering how other people view my words, actions, and body language that when I do get the opportunity to just all out be me, I still have to wonder if that me is actually me. Maybe the only time I can be me is when I'm alone, with no fear of portraying the wrong signals. Anyways, I think you have figured out who you are and that makes me jealous.

If I just said LOL, I lied. Do or do not. There is no try.

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Thank you, sincerely.
I have to admit, my heart skips a beat every time I go to hit the "post" button. It's hard to put yourself out there. I like the saying that goes, "You could be the sweetest peach on the tree and there will always be someone out there that doesn't like peaches." I have to cast aside my control issues over what people will think of me, and move ahead in hopes that something I have to say just might help someone the way that I am helped by others who put themselves out there.

You don't have to be sick to get better.
Female, 31 years old, 5'8"
Primal start: 1/2/2012My Primal Journal
Living, loving and learning.

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I'm disappointed. I can't post about it on facebook, lest I make a friend feel bad, but I need to vent a little, so I'm gonna sit in it over here for a minute.
Last night I taught a great class on wellness and essential oils. I included diet and lifestyle information which opened up some awesome discussion. The hostess was a friend and neighbor of mine who have been planning on signing up for a wholesale account under me for over a year. After the class ended she and her sister and I just talked for hours. They both stated that they planned on signing up and even let me know which oils and kits they wanted, they just needed to okay it with the spouses.
Then today she called me to say she was really sorry, but her other sister had signed up the week before without telling them, and her upline was pressuring them to sign up under her, and offering to match my sign up incentives and top it with a free diffuser. I've been gently working on this girl for over a year. If you ask me, that's just playing dirty. But what can I do? I can't be mad at my friend- it is her sister. And I've been guilt tripped enough over the years that I can't do that to other people. This type of thing happened a year or so back and it still stings. I do the work, and other people swoop in and steal my customers. I suck at business. I'm too nice.

You don't have to be sick to get better.
Female, 31 years old, 5'8"
Primal start: 1/2/2012My Primal Journal
Living, loving and learning.

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Yay on the yoga training! I'm a huge yoga fan. I'm trying to suck my husband into it as well. Unfortunately, we'll get started and he gets distracted by me in downward dog and it all goes downhill from there, lol

I relate to this well. WLB has gotten more into the yoga aspect and we can get through our asanas pretty well now despite the ogling.

You don't have to be sick to get better.
Female, 31 years old, 5'8"
Primal start: 1/2/2012My Primal Journal
Living, loving and learning.